Maranges 1er Cru "La Fussiere" 2005, Marinot-Verdun

Medium to light red. Disconcertingly a little spritzy on the glass. First nose is faint. Soft cherry, vague strawberry aromas. Whiff of oak. Red currant vim. Second nose purple flowers. On the palate medium-acidity, astringent, slightly green, red currant, stalky edge, light to medium bodied. Some toast on the finish. A bit mean on the fruit but a potent kick. The thin fruit body and greeness of this wine is a stark contrast with the 2005 from neighbouring Cote de Beaune village Santenay. Sunny 2005 should be rounder and richer.

The Maranges appellation is the least well known Cote d'Or appellation and the wine is hard to find outside France. Created in 1989 it is the southern-most Cote de Beaune vineyard near Santenay. The 1er Crus do not match the quality of the 1er Crus of the more famous Cote d'Or vineyards. Nevertheless big name producers like Domaine Leroy, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour produce Maranges. Not obvious why the Jures-Gourmet de la Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin selected this under par effort. In 2005 the appellation produced 6,582 hectolitres of red wine. For comparison Marsannay produced 5,600 hectolitres of red in 2005.

After studying at l'Université de Bourgogne I have never wavered from the righteous path of the Cote d'Or. Winning captain of the Cambridge University Blind Wine-Tasting team in 1998 and Puligny home-owner.